Painting Torre Reforma Pink Would Take Thousands of Liters. Keeping It Pink, Much More

Paint, however, is only one of the items that ultimately becomes part of a property’s maintenance. And that cost is hardly marginal compared with rent. As of the second quarter of 2026, maintenance fees in the Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey office markets amounted to approximately one-sixth of rent, although the proportion varied by building class³.

Notably, this burden increases as building class declines. In A+ buildings, the average maintenance fee was $4.31 per square meter, equivalent to 16.6% of rent; in Class A buildings, the figures were $4.14 and 18.2%, respectively; while in Class B buildings, even with a lower fee of $3.60, maintenance represented 18.3%³.

The paradox lies in the denominator. Lower-class buildings charge less rent, but maintenance does not decline by the same proportion. Between A+ and B, for example, weighted average rent falls by about 24%, while maintenance fees decline by about 16%. As a result, maintenance consumes a slightly larger share of the price as building class declines.

That brings the focus back to Torre Reforma’s façade. Painting it pink would be an extravagance, but also an economic decision, because the choice would not end when the paint dried. The same applies to every finish, installation, amenity or improvement added to a property. Building or remodeling, then, is not only about deciding how much something costs to do, but how much it will cost to keep. Because everything added to a building begins, from that moment on, to charge for staying.

Want to see maintenance fees by building class and market? Visit SiiLA Market Analytics or email us at contacto@siila.com.mx.

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¹ Gross surface area was calculated using the dimensions of walls C1 and W1 documented by Emiliano López Palacios in “Planeación para la construcción de la estructura del edificio Torre Reforma” (UNAM thesis): a combined length of 39 m and a height of 244 m, equivalent to 9,516 sqm. The surface area considered does not subtract façade openings and therefore represents a geometric upper bound based on these dimensions, not a measurement of the net concrete surface area. Paint consumption was estimated for two coats based on the coverage rates published by the manufacturers of the products analyzed: Berel Berelinte 7 Satinado and Sherwin-Williams Súper Kem Tone Autolavable and Platinum. For Berel, the arithmetic midpoint of its published coverage rate of 7–9 m²/L for two coats was used; for the Sherwin-Williams products, the practical estimated coverage rate of 8.11 m²/L per coat was used. The resulting liters were rounded to the nearest whole number and the number of 19 L buckets up to the next whole number. The exercise does not adjust coverage for color or estimate the additional amount that might be required to change the color of exposed concrete. It also excludes waste, sealers, surface preparation, labor, access equipment and other materials or execution costs.

² SiiLA estimate based on public prices consulted in Mexico in September 2026 for 19 L containers: MXN 2,595 for Berel Berelinte 7 Satinado, MXN 4,311.34 for Sherwin-Williams Platinum and MXN 4,635 for Sherwin-Williams Súper Kem Tone Autolavable. Cost was calculated by multiplying the estimated consumption of each product by its price per liter. Prices may vary by distributor, location, color and promotions; they do not constitute project quotes.

³ SiiLA estimate based on second-quarter 2026 data for the Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey office markets. For Classes A+, A and B, average market rent and maintenance fees were calculated separately, weighting each observation by inventory and excluding those without inventory, rent or maintenance data. The maintenance burden relative to rent was calculated by dividing the weighted average maintenance fee by the weighted average rent. The analysis used 59 observations: 21 Class A+, 21 Class A and 17 Class B. The results were 16.6%, 18.2% and 18.3%, respectively. Calculations were performed in R.